Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Mar 1932)

January 2, 193 2 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 51 THE JUNIOR SHOW by RITA C. McGOLDRICK THERE is no longer any doubt about it; Mr. Exhibitor, may not be aware of the among the growing number of those wh you may be among the fair-sized number of with the idea of selected shows for young peopl disgruntled manager writes us : "Women's groups are like fireworks on the Fourth of July. They furnish sky rockets with a fine burst of stars, and then the night is blacker than before." This subject has its pros and cons. A number of earnest, willing theatre men have tried to develop local support for special shows for children and has found community encouragement fizzled flash in the pan. But after a period of careful sifting and thoughtful weighing of results, I am in a position to declare positively that the odds are preponderantly in favor of the Junior Show. At this turning point of the year we may safely take stock in the results achieved by the departments "School and Screen," "Your Public," "Selections" and "The Junior Show" which Motion Picture Herald inaugurated within the past year in an attempt to coordinate the aims of the organized groups of the nation with the activities of the theatre men who were willing to develop better programs in their theatres. In the past twelve months we have had an overwhelming flood of letters from club groups in every state. Letter from the theatre men have been in equal proportion. In the large number of instances we have found a sense of bewilderment. Methods of procedure have not been clear ; understanding and underlying purposes have not been mutually understood. In many instances the attempts for community activity for better pictures have produced static rather than wave length. In a great many other cases harmony has reigned, and where it has, we have results as astonishing as those recorded by Robert G. Hesseldenz, the manager of Bair's Uptown and Ritz theatres in Indianapolis. He began a campaign to build up child patronage. He made his contacts intelligently and carefully. He developed a code of ethics for children's shows. V the JUNIOR SHOW is the thing! You, possibilities in this whole field, or may be o know how true the statement is. Or, again, theatre managers who have experimented e and found them to be a dismal failure. One A Lesson in Evidence The letter from Mr. Hesseldenz is well worth reprinting in full, for it is a lesson in consistent performance. It tells the optimistic story of accomplishment, not the possibilities of experiment. It is a letter for theatre managers interested in this whole project to read with a degree of thoughtful consideration. Rita C. McGoldrick, Junior Show Department, Motion Picture Herald, 1790 Broadway, New York, N. Y. Dear Mrs. McGoldrick: Your surprise telegram arrived just when the Uptown was entertaining over 900 children at our annual Photoplay Indorsers Potato Matinee — you know, the admission price is an article of food — and, pardon the mention, the checkup shows that we netted 45 bushels of food, allowing 30 cans to the bushel. This is our record Potato Matinee, and strange, too, this being our hardest year in ages. 'Sfunny, Mrs. McGoldrick, the writer intended writing to you quite some time back with the idea in mind of complimenting you on your work in the Motion Picture Herald. The information one is able to learn from your articles should go a long way towards keeping an exhibitor posted on what he might show on the days on which he expects the kiddies. But even then, we find ourselves licked and iind that we can't have the pictures you recommend because of our buying or booking arrangement. It's tough when the Film Co. compels you to show an adult picture, bought on percentage, on your children's matinee or night. Thank goodness, that happens only once in a while, but no good comes of it. When I opened the Uptown theatre, now owned by Mr. R. R. Bair, I started a campaign to build up a big child patronage. The biq job_ was to sell the parents on the idea that their children would be taken care of in a personal way while attending our matinees, and that instead of playing perhaps in the dangerous streets, their darlings could be checked at the Uptown where they would be entertained in a supervised manner and could be called for a couple of happy hours later. I promised the parents (by word of mouth and in my ads) that_ I would give the children my personal attention, and in six years I have never been off the floor during the children's matinees. My ushers and I follow the law made by me that : Every child must be recognised and treated as a potential patron. More time must be taken to explain the why and wherefore to a child than to the average adult. No matter what a child wants, needs, or has lost, that itidividiial case must be handled with parental consideration. Never must a child be made to feel cheap before its other playmates, never any razzing, etc. When a child violates a house rule, he is brought back to me for correction, and he returns to his seat calling us his pals. A childpatron's honesty must never be questioned but let him know that his word is good at our theatre. To this date no child has ever been threatened in our theatre. Now our picture policy has always included the following on Children's Matinees : Feature, Western or other action or comedy picture. Serial, Western preferred. Comedy, and comedy without the smut. Cartoon, Mickey Mouse and Fable, most popular. News. For six years we have held a drawing each Saturday matinee and the winner is presented with a Tip-Top wristwatch and band. We always start a serial with a novelty for each child. We never start a serial with a free show. On Christmas matinee we give a Merry Christmas pass to each child. Beats candy by far. A great stunt to make the children "repeaters" which has gone over great for us is to buy about 5,000 flag-buttons, each with a number on it. Give each child a button each Saturday matinee and hold a drawing at the end of the first show each Saturday. Give a pass to each child holding the button with the number drawn. I forgot to mention that buttons should be numbered up to 100. The children like the buttons because of the attractiveness of colored flags and the pass gives the added kick. Now that you know how we try for the patronage of children, you no doubt will want to know if we have met with success. Understand that we are not bragging and we realize that we may be topped by many other theatres, but during 1930 ive averaged over 1400 paid children (under 12 years) 15 cents per week, the most in one day, 1251, and the most on one picture, 1497. Of course, it is no effort to get a crowd of children once in a while but the weekly average is what counts. This year's child business will not fall much below that of 1930. The important thing is that the children come to the theatre for pleasure and the less grief they experience the more fun they'll have and the more often they will want to attend. Trusting that I have not taken up too much of your valuable time and extending you the Season's Greetings, permit me to remain, Sincerely yours, (signed) Robert G. Hesseldenz, Manager, Bair's Uptown and Ritz. V The Problem Side A fair example of the discouragements that some managers have to face when they first attempt the plowing and fertilizing of this new field of enterprise has come to us in a letter telling something of a bitter story. For that reason it may be better, in this instance, to withhold the names. The exhibitor writing the complaint owns a theatre in a medium size town in the Southwest. He has a college education. He had identified himself in local affairs, had served as a public official and consequently had a keener appreciation of the value of public opinion and group cooperation than most theatre managers. He was approached by a local group of women, leaders in the women's organizations in the town, who convinced him that they were interested in promoting better motion pictures for their community. First, they suggested children's matinees, which, from his experience, he discouraged. But at their suggestion of a Family Night program of selected pictures for Friday nights he extended the complete co-operation of his theatre's facilities, even going so far as to purchase special pictures which they had requested and for which he had not contracted. This necessitated a higher price than he would have paid were he buying a group of pictures. They assured him that they would support the family night pictures that they had themselves selected and would insure a large attendance of local people who were interested in pictures of a higher moral quality. After a few weeks of feeble box office returns the exhibitor took the trouble to stand in the lobby of his theatre to determine whether or not any of the leaders of these public groups were actually giving their support to the project. On three successive Friday nights he learned by personal observation that none of the committee attended the special programs that they had selected. These are the heartbreaking discouragements. In this instance one can lay _ the blame directly upon one leader who failed. A little patience, a little sifting and some